Not so mighty
by fen-san
Summary: Just a piece of friendship fluff with Gumshoe and Edgeworth taking care of each other.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – all characters depicted herein are Capcom's not mine.

Author's note – This one isn't slash, although if you want to interpret it as pre-slash or containing sublimated slashy feelings then I suppose that interpretation works. I was aiming for friendship and hurt/comfort. I like friendship stories and writing slash where the protagonists' eyes meet over a vomit basin is just a bit too ridiculous even for me.

The 'Demon Prosecutor' didn't look nearly so imposing collapsed on his knees in the gents and praying - vigorously - to the porcelain god. Dick Gumshoe considered it lucky that it was he who had stumbled upon this sight rather than anyone else, seeing as he was one of the few people around who wouldn't gloat to see the haughty lawyer so miserable. Gumshoe had actually been looking for Edgeworth anyway, having fled the police station to help the man because Police Chief Gant had been playing his organ again. He was actually fairly good, but it was very loud.

Edgeworth had straightened up to kneel upright and Gumshoe stepped forward into his line of sight. Edgeworth's cravat was askew, his pale face was drawn and sweaty and his hair was dishevelled. The poor guy looked utterly miserable. 'Can I get you a glass of water, Mister Edgeworth?' He asked quietly. The shorter man managed to nod vaguely, catching his breath before his stomach rebelled again. Gumshoe retreated hurriedly in search of a clean glass.

By the time Gumshoe returned Edgeworth had apparently exhausted himself and his stomach's contents and was in the process of dragging himself onto his feet. Gumshoe put the glass down and solicitously aided him, placing gentle hands about Edgeworth's ribs and practically lifting him up. He couldn't help but notice that the expensive shirt under his palms was cold and clammy. 'I think ya need to go home and rest, sir. Do you mind if I give you a lift there?' He bravely asked as Edgeworth sipped the proffered water grimly.

Edgeworth considered the detective's words and his jaw tightened with some strong emotion. Pride and practicality battled in his eyes and Gumshoe decided to stick his neck out, giving one last verbal push. 'If other people see ya sick they'll gossip and think you're weak. If you go home and rest you'll get better quicker and then you can prove to 'em that you aren't.' He saw the persuasive argument strike home. He might not seem like the brightest of guys, but Gumshoe considered Edgeworth a friend and knew him better than most. Miles Edgeworth was a proud man who abhorred being seen as anything less than the fearsome clever lawyer he was. He especially hated to be seen as weak, knowing that it would only be exploited by others. He meekly nodded his acquiescence. Gumshoe helped his friend into his pink suit jacket and watched as Edgeworth quickly tidied up his cravat and hair, looking almost entirely as he usually did.

Together they walked down to the car park; fortunately since it was midmorning everyone else was hard at work and thus did not notice them leaving. Gumshoe held the passenger door open, then shut it behind Edgeworth and was surprised to hear a very rarely used chuckle from the other as he took his place behind the wheel. At Gumshoe's questioning look Edgeworth explained. 'You are being so solicitous, taking care of me like a mother might. It is a difficult concept to reconcile with your size and very masculine demeanour.'

That innocent remark drew a blush, even as it made Gumshoe's heart ache in old pain. Neither of them had mothers, Edgeworth had never known his as she'd died when he was tiny and Gumshoe's own mother had died some fifteen years previously. Neither had much in the way of support in the even of illness, Edgeworth's mentor despised weakness with a passion and Gumshoe's police buddies were more drinking companions than anything deeper. Gumshoe looked over at Edgeworth, noting the shadows of tiredness about his eyes, made more obvious by his unusual pallor. Everyone needed someone. The rest of the drive was completed in companiable silence.

Arriving at Edgeworth's house Gumshoe was impressed by the immaculately kept front lawn. Given the man's workload and nature the detective inferred that he had a gardener. A barking sound started up as they walked up to the front door. 'Oh do be quiet Pess.' Edgeworth snapped irritably. Amazingly the noise stopped at that rebuke and Gumshoe was again impressed.

A large dog was waiting directly behind the front door and she hovered around Edgeworth, not leaping up at him, but following him closely, content to press her heavy body close against his legs. Greeting completed to her canine satisfaction she turned to Gumshoe, sniffing him over, then nudging his nearest hand with her snout, demanding he scratch her ears.

The pair followed Edgeworth and watched as he reached the sitting room and promptly collapsed onto the sofa with a groan. Evidently it was not unheard of for him to fall asleep on the sofa as there was already a soft blanket slung over the back of the sofa. Gumshoe resisted the urge to help settle Edgeworth and instead followed the directions to the kitchen for another glass of water and a basin, just in case. Pess settled down with her master quite happily.

'I guess I oughta get back to work, Mister Edgeworth. Uh, get better and get some rest please, sir.'

Edgeworth's thin lips curled upwards in a rueful smirk as he looked down at himself. 'I think I can manage that, Detective.' He heard the door shut and stripped off his suit jacket, cravat and waistcoat. He lay back, stroking Pess' fur and he closed his eyes just for a moment as he thought fondly of his detective friend, mentally blessing him for his mother-henning. Despite his haughty manner and strict upbringing by Manfred von Karma, Miles Edgeworth still retained a capacity for loneliness, and it was strongest when his health failed.

Gumshoe decided to push his luck and stop off at Edgeworth's house on his way home from work, just to check that the guy was in fact resting, and hadn't found some work to do despite his condition. He stopped off at the local Jewish deli for some proper chicken soup and then headed over.

It took several moments for Edgeworth to come and answer the door, and his rumpled state when he did arrive reassured Gumshoe that he'd been sleeping, not poring over legalese. 'Uh, hi Mister Edgeworth. I brought soup.' He thrust it out as if to placate his sleepy-eyed superior. It was met with surprise and gratitude. Not that anyone who didn't know Mister Edgeworth very well would know that. His expression was it's usual impassive mask, but his eyes had widened just a little and he'd not been able to fully suppress the movement of his mouth into a reflexive smile.

They ate together, Gumshoe chattering excitedly about a new case that was coming in, Edgeworth nodding and humming at the appropriate places. Gumshoe blushed slightly as he had a second bowl of the delicious soup, but Edgeworth was at least eating and he didn't seem put out by the detective's appetite. Eventually though he had to give Pess one last pat on the head and go back to his own accommodations.

The next day Gumshoe was waist deep in paperwork when the telephone rang. 'Gumshoe, I need copies of everything you've got on the Mason file faxing over to my office as soon as you can. This is going to be a tough case, so anything you can dig up will be useful.'

A grin spread across the scruffy detective's face. 'I'll get right on it sir!'


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer – Still don't own anything here.

Author's note – It's the turnaround cliché!

It had all happened so quickly; the suspect had been panicking and broke away from Gumshoe with a shove, the cat had appeared from nowhere, suddenly the stairs had appeared and Gumshoe couldn't do anything to stop himself falling. He hung there for an obscenely long moment before gravity yanked his bulky body over. He vaguely remembered the pale, worried face of Carlos, the rookie cop who'd been with him before everything went fuzzy.

A nurse was the first thing Gumshoe saw when he regained consciousness and she smiled soothingly at him as she continued with what she was doing. She was injecting something into his brawny arm. 'It's just a tetanus shot, you got pretty cut up when you landed on that glass, so we're giving you a booster shot just as a precaution.' She explained kindly.

Gumshoe tried to be brave, but he didn't like needles and somehow the nurse picked up on his nervousness. She was five foot on the dot, he was over six foot tall, but she didn't mind that a big guy like him was scared. She explained everything she was doing to him and eventually the procession of hypodermic needles and dressings came to an end. The nurse smiled and told Gumshoe to get some rest.

Then the doctor came to see Gumshoe. He was of Pakistani descent and looked very tired. That fact made Gumshoe worry too. He preferred it when people in charge of keeping him alive and healthy weren't dead on their feet from exhaustion. The doctor talked very fast about medical stuff Gumshoe didn't really understand, but apparently he wasn't going to die any time soon, which was good enough for Gumshoe. He wasn't very happy to hear that his broken ribs and concussion meant he'd be kept in the hospital for a few more days though.

Carlos headed out of the station in a hurry, nearly bowling over a broad pink-suited figure. 'What emergency are you going to that warrants such thoughtless haste, officer?'

Carlos paled when he saw exactly whom he'd ploughed into. He'd only gone and managed to offend the Demon Prosecutor on his first week in the precinct! Internally he wailed in dismay. 'Sorry sir, but Detective Gumshoe had an accident and he asked me to feed his cat while he was in hospital.'

'Don't bother.' The aloof man told him offhandedly. Carlos was outraged. Was this ruffled ponce suggesting he let an innocent pet starve? He was about to retort when the lawyer continued. 'I am going in that direction anyway. I can feed his cat until he is well enough to return.' He then strode off without a backward glance as if that sorted that. Carlos was breathless at the sheer arrogance of the man.

Gumshoe decided to give up on his night's sleep at about seven the next morning. He'd slept badly with the pain in his ribs, the noise of other patients and medical equipment, the fact the place was too light and the way the hospital smell of the place stuck in his throat. Gumshoe was utterly miserable. He tentatively sat up, moving carefully and wincing as even that small movement woke up fresh aches in his battered body. His expression brightened slightly when he noticed the small pile of envelopes on the table next to his bed.

The card from Gant was just creepy. The one from Phoenix Wright and Maya was cheap and cheerful. He could almost hear the pair's voices as he read their encouraging message. The girls at the office had all signed a big card. It had a lot of pink on it and a couple of the messages made him blush. They'd also bought him a plant that looked nice now, but was fated to die rapidly under his care. Even Winston Payne had sent a small, unostentatious card. Gumshoe admired his little paper flock, basking in the knowledge that people cared about him. It was almost enough to alleviate the misery of being in hospital.

The nurses were nice too, although he might have been biased by the fact they gave him pain medication, but they flitted in and out, doing clinical things and making notes on the clipboard at the end of his bed. He'd taken a look at it, but it didn't make any sense. There was only so many times he could re-read his get-well cards and he'd been told he wasn't allowed to get up, so he couldn't even buy a newspaper. Gumshoe was bored and lonely.

Onigiri wound around Edgeworth's legs, getting fur all over his suit trousers. She purred like an outboard motor, interspersing the sound with little chirrups and mews. Evidently Gumshoe's pet was outgoing, that or she was so hungry that she'd make a fuss of anyone who looked like they might give her food. Edgeworth sighed and petted the brazen little feline, wondering out loud, 'Now where would your owner keep the cat food?' Since she didn't answer he went though to the kitchen and began opening the cupboards methodically, starting with the places a person would most likely put pet food in. After hunting high and low he found several cans of cat food in the cupboard under the sink, a place where any sensible person would store pans or cleaning materials. Edgeworth grumbled softly under his breath, and fed Onigiri.

By the end of his first full day in hospital Gumshoe was bored out of his mind. He'd managed to beg a pen and old newspaper off one of the patients being discharged and had done both the crossword and sudoku puzzles. He'd thought something impolite about criminals, drunken six cups of tea given to him by the lady with the drinks trolley, cleaned under his fingernails and gotten bored of the view out of his window. He sighed very carefully.

'Bored, Detective?' A sardonic and perpetually superior voice interrupted his thoughts.

'You bet I am sir!' Gumshoe turned to greet his friend and was surprised to see the man carrying a suitcase. He looked at Edgeworth questioningly.

Edgeworth blushed slightly, putting on a stern face to pretend that he wasn't flustered. 'I wasn't sure what things you needed, so I erred on the side of caution. He plonked the bag in the visitor's chair and Gumshoe watched him unpack it.

In addition to the clean pyjamas, underwear and clothes he'd remembered Gumshoe's wash kit, a couple of battered paperbacks (he'd chosen the two that looked most well-loved), a Steel Samurai manga and an apparently recent photograph of his cat.

'Gee pal, O mean sir… I don't know whatta say.'

'Thank-you would be the conventional thing to say at this juncture, Detective.' Edgeworth replied repressively, but the comparatively mild tone and lack of frown on his face told Gumshoe he didn't mean it. 'Just get better. I've got a replacement detective working for me at the moment and while I cannot complain about his competence or work ethic I do anticipate your return to the department.'

Which was as close as the man got to three cheers and freedom of the town, Gumshoe thought privately. 'Instead he grinned. 'Thanks, Mister Edgeworth.'

The other man didn't stay long and he didn't talk much, just making a few trivial remarks on his latest case, but the visit made Gumshoe smile. Even the nurses noticed his mood had improved.

At last he was free to go. Gumshoe took a cab home, unlocking his front door and skilfully evading Onigiri's loving attempts at tripping him. He went to get a beer from the fridge, but paused when he found a note stuck to the appliance.

'Have tidied and cleaned your kitchen. Call me if you cannot find anything.'

Gumshoe laughed and helped himself to a beer. He made a sandwich from the fresh food in the fridge and smiled when he found a copy of that day's newspaper neatly folded on the sofa in his sitting room. Gumshoe shook his head at the artfully concealed thoughtfulness of his friend.


End file.
